In 2006, when Sarah Palin was Governor of Alaska, she backed a proposal to build a bridge to replace the ferry connecting the town of Ketchikan with Gravina Island — the location of Ketchikan International Airport and some 50 full-time residents. The cost of the bridge was projected at $398 million, exclusive of the requisite improvements to the surrounding infrastructure at both ends. The structure — nicknamed the “Bridge to Nowhere” — was never completed.

In the same year (just a coincidence), on a cruise along Alaska’s Inland Passage, one of our shore excursions included panning for gold in a stream near the site of a 19th-century prospectors’ camp. We knew the stream had probably been seeded with bits of gold to keep the tourists happy; but when I did find a couple of small flakes of the shiny yellow ore — even though it was worthless — I felt a little thrill of success.

The same can sometimes happen as I read through the mountain of news articles each day: once in a while, amid all the repetition, there will be a nugget of detail that jumps out because it is different, and doesn’t seem to belong in that particular story . . . which is what happened to me yesterday.

I was reading an analysis of the current state of U.S.-Russia negotiations concerning the war in Ukraine, and what to expect from a proposed meeting to be scheduled between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, when my attention began to wane. But for some unknown reason, I continued reading to the end . . . and this is what I saw:

“Russian officials also appear to be preparing their own offerings to present to the US side in talks.

“Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, revived the idea of building a tunnel under the Bering Sea to connect Russia and the United States though [sic] Alaska and suggested that Elon Musk’s Boring Company build it.” [Zoriana Stepanenko and Reid Standish, RFE/RL, October 18, 2025.]

And I’m thinking:

So I followed a link to another article, which told me that I was not losing my mind; a tunnel connecting Russia and America’s 49th state is a real proposal, masterminded by the head of Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund, Kirill Dmitriev.

Dmitriev proposes that the two countries build a “Putin-Trump” rail tunnel under the Bering Strait to link their territories, open up joint exploration of natural resources, and “symbolise unity,” according to a Kremlin official. The 70-mile-long tunnel would cost an estimated $8 billion, to be funded by Moscow and unspecified “international partners,” and would be completed within eight years. [Andrew Osborn, Reuters, October 17, 2025.]

During the White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday, October 17th, a reporter asked Donald Trump what he thought of the idea. He called it “interesting,” and asked Zelensky what he had to say about it. Zelensky’s response:

“I’m not happy with this idea.” [Id.]

Apparently, this prompted a few chuckles from the U.S. side of the table. But somehow I don’t think Zelensky was trying to be funny. He was, after all, in Washington to plead for further help to save Ukraine from Russia’s onslaught — not to talk about building bridges (or tunnels) between his supposed ally and the very enemy that was trying to destroy his country.

Seriously . . . what the hell was Trump thinking?!! With all of his alleged concerns about national security — already being carried to previously unheard-of extremes — could he seriously be considering giving Russia free access to our sovereign territory? Did he even notice the mention of financing from unnamed “international partners”? Or of his onetime BFF, Elon Musk?

But the foremost question in my mind is whether he simply hasn’t focused on the details as yet, or whether this has been part of his “trade” discussions with Putin all along.

Either way, it’s a truly frightening prospect . . . right up there with the Qatari Air Force training facility in Idaho.

But why stop there? Why don’t we just hand out keys to the Pentagon to all of our adversaries while we’re at it?

Seriously . . . WTF??!!!

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/19/25

With the focus being on the good news of the Israel-Gaza hostage/prisoner exchange, the past week has brought no news of changes in the status of those political hostages still being held by Vladimir Putin and his allies.

But there has been word from some of Putin’s former prisoners, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, who returned home as part of the multinational swap in August of 2024.

Kara-Murza and another former prisoner — Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has been living in exile in London since his 2013 release following ten years in a Russian prison — have, along with others, formed the Anti-War Committee of Russia, whose manifesto states that its goals are to stop the war in Ukraine and to oppose Putin’s dictatorial regime. And as such, they are being investigated by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB, successor to the KGB), accused of having created a “terrorist organization” and plotting to seize power. These include former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, ex-Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, and leading economists Sergei Aleksashenko and Sergei Guriev. [RFE/RL, October 14, 2025.]

In addition, the surviving members of deceased prisoner Aleksei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), also in exile, continue to be a major thorn in Putin’s side. Led by Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, they continue the fight for which her husband gave his life.

*. *. *

Hopefully, the political prisoners still languishing in Putin’s prisons are aware that these groups, among others, are continuing the fight on their behalf.

And once again, here are the names of those prisoners known to me:

Immigrant Detainees in Russia:

Migrants from the Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Prisoners of War:

The 19,500 Kidnapped Ukrainian Children
The People of Ukraine

Endangered Exiles:

Mikita Losik
Yulia Navalnaya
Countless Journalists and Other Dissidents

Political Prisoners:

In Azerbaijan:

The “Azerbaijan 7”:
— Farid Mehralizada
— Ulvi Hasanli
— Sevinj Abbasova (Vagifqiai)
— Mahammad Kekalov
— Hafiz Babali
— Nargiz Absalamova
— Elnara Gasimova

In Belarus:

Ales Bialiatski
Andrei Chapiuk
Marya Kalesnikava
Uladzimir Labkovich
Marfa Rabkova
Valiantsin Stafanovic
Yuras Zyankovich

In China:

Chenyue Mao (American)

In Russia:

David Barnes (American)
Gordon Black (American)
Antonina Favorskaya
Konstantin Gabov
Robert Gilman (American)
Stephen James Hubbard (American)
Sergey Karelin
Timur Kishukov
Vadim Kobzev
Darya Kozyreva
Artyom Kriger
Michael Travis Leake (American)
Aleksei Liptser
Grigory Melkonyants
Nika Novak
Nadezhda Rossinskaya (a.k.a. Nadin Geisler)
Sofiane Sehili (French)
Igor Sergunin
Dmitry Shatresov
Robert Shonov
Grigory Skvortsov
Eugene Spector (American)
Laurent Vinatier
Robert Romanov Woodland (American)

Stay strong, and stay hopeful. You are not forgotten.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/19/25

So . . . Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are talking about getting together again, this time in Budapest. How nice!

But political issues aside, there seems to be an even thornier problem for Putin: logistics. While the straight-line distance from Moscow to Budapest is far shorter than it was to Alaska, he obviously can’t fly across the entire east-west length of Ukraine without the risk of being shot down as an enemy aircraft.

Alternatively, his plane could fly across Belarus (no problem), but then through NATO airspace above Poland and Slovakia. And that is currently verboten.

Even the longer southern Black Sea route, through Bulgaria and/or Romania — both EU members — involves restricted airspace. So any way you look at it, special dispensation would be required from the involved EU states to temporarily lift the existing ban against Russian aircraft.

Clearly, all of these countries want the war against Ukraine to end, and the threat of Russian expansionism to be reduced. So it is likely that a solution will be found and permission granted for Putin’s “Flying Kremlin” to cross EU airspace at some point in order to expedite the plans for the meeting. But getting everyone onto the same page has to look something like the proverbial Chinese fire drill.

It’s amusing, really — but not to Putin. The situation points out the extent of his isolation from a large part of the rest of the world, which in itself should be an incentive for him to finally offer some concessions and end his bid to reabsorb Ukraine into Russia.

But for nearly four years, nothing has worked — not isolation, not tariffs, not freezing of Russian assets. Let’s see what happens this time in Budapest, or perhaps some other location . . .

. . . or, for that matter, whether there will be a meeting at all. This was, after all, Putin’s idea — including the choice of Budapest as the venue — and might be just another stalling tactic.

Stay tuned.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/18/25

Well, I was wrong. But so were the experts this time.

Most people anticipated that Donald Trump would follow up on yesterday’s White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by calling Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately afterward. We did not imagine his talking to Putin first, ahead of the meeting.

In fact, however, that is what transpired. Trump wrote on Truth Social on October 16th that the phone conversation had already taken place — at Putin’s instigation — and said:

“We agreed that there will be a meeting of our High Level Advisors, next week . . . President Putin and I will then meet in an agreed upon location, Budapest, Hungary. . . . to see if we can bring this ‘inglorious’ War, between Russia and Ukraine, to an end.” [RFE/RL, October 16, 2025.]

Was I surprised at this? Actually, no . . . not surprised. I was flabbergasted!

We may never know precisely what was discussed between Trump and Putin, since neither of their versions is likely to be complete or reliable. But we do know, after the fact, that Trump is no longer hedging as to whether the U.S. will be supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk missiles. The answer is a flat-out nyet — at least for now.

But the possibility has been left open for the future, likely as a cudgel to be held over Putin’s head pending the proposed bilateral summit in Budapest. According to Ilan Berman, Senior Vice President of the American Foreign Policy Council, leaving the issue open-ended is significant:

“The question now is whether it’s possible for the White House to put together a package of sticks that Russia will really respond to in a way that it hasn’t before. And I think that’s where the Tomahawks come in. My sense is that’s sort of what is animating the thinking. But I think both the president and his advisers are far less optimistic about Vladimir Putin being a constructive actor than they were six months ago.” [Ray Furlong, RFE/RL, October 18, 2025 CET.]

We are talking about the same Vladimir Putin, aren’t we?

Because it’s going to take some mighty big sticks to convince this Putin to give up any of his demands.

And there is this post from Trump on social media following his talk with Putin, in which — for perhaps the hundredth time — he said he believes “great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation,” and added:

“President Putin congratulated me and the United States on the Great Accomplishment of Peace in the Middle East, something that, he said, has been dreamed of for centuries. I actually believe that the Success in the Middle East will help in our negotiation in attaining an end to the War with Russia/Ukraine.” [Samantha Waldenberg, CNN, October 16, 2025.]

And when he had stopped patting himself on the back, he went on:

“We also spent a great deal of time talking about Trade between Russia and the United States when the War with Ukraine is over.” [Id.] [Bold emphasis is mine.]

And there it is — one big, fat, bright orange carrot on a stick for Vlad: Money.

In addition, Putin has — by means of a single phone call — once again bought himself a bit of time. We now await word as to the final arrangements for a bilateral meeting in Budapest . . . or anywhere. Even Trump indicated some uncertainty as to whether Putin was simply delaying again, though he didn’t say how long he will wait this time before once more losing patience.

And in the meantime, Ukraine prepares for another long, cold, desperate winter.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/18/25

John Bolton, former national security adviser during Donald Trump’s first administration, has been criminally indicted on federal charges of allegedly mishandling classified information. The charges include eight counts of transmission of national defense information (NDI) and ten counts of unlawful retention of NDI.

Bolton is accused of illegally transmitting top secret U.S. defense information via his personal email and other messaging apps — charges that Bolton vehemently denies, and which eerily echo Trump’s past accusations against Hillary Clinton — that could result in a sentence of decades in prison if he were to be convicted on all charges. At his age, that would be tantamount to a life sentence.

Specifically, the indictment states:

“These documents revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations.” [Ana Faguy and Aoife Walsh, BBC, October 16, 2025.]

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi — Trump’s willing enforcer of his relentless attacks on his critics and perceived enemies — said in a statement that “No one is above the law.” [Id.]

What I find most difficult to comprehend is how the Trump team can possibly fail to see the irony — indeed, the completely transparent hypocrisy — in their every move and every word.

Do they really think we have forgotten the 40 counts of the indictment against Trump after he left office in January of 2021 with boxes of classified government documents that were later found at his Florida residence? He was charged separately under the Espionage Act for each of 32 documents; eight additional charges included making false statements and engaging in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Despite special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of the case, it was dismissed in 2024 by Judge Aileen Cannon — a Trump appointee — who ruled that Smith’s appointment had been unconstitutional.

Trump — the original Mr. Teflon — walked. But “no one is above the law.”

He and his minions also conveniently ignore the events of this past March, when The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly included in a classified Signal group chat regarding detailed preparations for military operations against Houthi forces in Yemen. The call included, among other top members of the administration, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz — Waltz being the person named as the coordinator of the call.

In fact, it happened twice. Was anyone charged, fired, or even reprimanded? No, they were not . . . because they were Trump’s people. But again, “no one is above the law.”

In fact, Hegseth’s comments to the press included this:

“Nobody was texting war plans, and that’s all I have to say about that.” He called Jeffrey Goldberg “a deceitful and highly discredited, so-called journalist who’s made a profession of peddling hoaxes time and time again. . . . This is the guy that pedals [sic] in garbage. This is what he does.” [Megan Forrester, ABC News, April 22, 2025.]

That, of course, would be in contrast to Hegseth’s own illustrious career at Fox News.

*. *. *

“No one is above the law.” At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be, and how it always has been in this country . . . until recently. But it seems that now “the law” is whatever the guy at the top of the ladder says it is. And “no one” means anyone but him and his chosen few.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/17/25

I had a routine doctor’s appointment in town today, and while I waited for my ride to arrive to take me home, I sat outside to enjoy the sunny, low-humidity fall day.

Normally, I might have pulled out my phone to check my emails or scan through Facebook. But today my eye was drawn to some nearby bushes that still had late flowers — small purple things, rather nondescript, with spiky leaves. I had no idea what they were; but a swarm of small yellow butterflies obviously did.

My ride was running late; but I was so enthralled by the simple sight of the dozens of yellow-winged creatures flitting from flower to flower, barely alighting on one before moving on to the next, that I lost track of time and forgot to be impatient. I watched their pollination ritual, as I came to think of it; gazed up at the blue, nearly cloudless sky; listened to the sounds of nearby traffic; and smiled in greeting at the people entering and leaving the medical building.

And — miracle of miracles — for a half hour I forgot about the world’s problems: the wars, the political infighting, and the natural disasters about which I normally spend far too much time thinking and writing. I was so lost in the moment, and so relaxed, that I was actually rather disappointed when my ride finally did arrive.

Later in the day, I looked for some information on my little butterfly friends, and found that they are indeed among the most common species native to this area. Symbolically, they represent joy, hope, good luck, and new life. And who doesn’t need more of that?

I have a feeling my dreams will be a little sweeter tonight.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/16/25

The ink on the Israel-Gaza ceasefire treaty was barely dry when Donald Trump told the Israeli Knesset that he was ready to re-focus his attention on Russia and Ukraine.

With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky scheduled to visit the Washington White House on Friday, Trump has once more expressed his disillusionment with his supposed good friend Vladimir Putin, telling reporters at the White House on Tuesday:

“I’m very disappointed, because Vladimir and I had a very good relationship. Probably still do. I don’t know why he continues with this war…. He could end it. He could end it quickly.” [RFE/RL, October 15, 2025.]

He doesn’t know why?!! Seriously??!!! Because if that’s true, then what the hell is he doing occupying the Oval Office?

But setting aside the absurdity of that remark, Washington and Moscow are now dealing with the issue of whether the U.S. will supply long-range, nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine as requested by Zelensky. Trump has hinted that he might . . . or might not . . . accede to that request. And the Kremlin quickly responded with comments by spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who asked “What should the Russian Federation think? Just how should Russia react?” if a Tomahawk were detected coming their way.

Then — never one to miss an opportunity to exacerbate an already dangerous situation — Kremlin hawk extraordinaire Dmitry Medvedev added this on social media:

“How should Russia respond? Exactly! The delivery of these missiles could end badly for everyone. And first of all — for Trump himself.” [Harry Sekulich and Laura Gozzi, BBC, October 13, 2025.]

It’s difficult to assess how much of Medvedev’s rhetoric is Kremlin-approved, and how much is pure bluster. But as long-time Putin sidekick — he served as titular president for four years while Putin waited to be eligible to run again — and current Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council (Putin himself is Chairman), it seems unlikely that he would risk going against Putin’s wishes.

So, as we slide inexorably toward the end of another week, we’ll see what Trump comes up with after his meeting with Zelensky. Presumably there will be a follow-up call with Putin; and knowing Trump’s propensity for being influenced by the last person he spoke with, it will be interesting to see how often and how quickly he shifts gears this time.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/16/25

Years ago, my sister and I laughingly made what we called a “Ribbit Pact,” inspired by two little throw pillows we had with drawings of frogs saying, “Together ‘til we croak.” (Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to wait for me; but if all goes well, I’ll have an opportunity one day to let her know how much I have missed her.)

But it turns out that — according to the Old Testament — God was way ahead of us with a Ribbit Pact of His own. In Exodus 8:2-4 (English Standard Version), it is written:

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”’”

*. *. *

Whether you are a believer in the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Quran, the Tripitaka, or no testament at all, you have to wonder whether some of the good folks of Portland, Oregon, were referencing Moses’ instructions when they adopted the big green frog as the symbol of their ICE resistance movement. Or perhaps they were just having fun, as Portlanders are reputed to do . . . a lot.

Whatever the case, it appears that there may be a 21st-century Moses, alive and well and living in Portland. I just hope, for his sake, he’s not an immigrant.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/16/25

I’m not talking about the ones in the windshields of airplanes carrying U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth . . . although those are certainly concerning enough.

In this case, the cracks already have begun to show in Donald Trump’s purportedly rock-solid peace treaty between Israel and Gaza, which he (perhaps prematurely) has predicted will bring a new “golden age” to the long-embattled Middle East.

Speaking before Israel’s Knesset (Parliament) on Monday, he stated clearly that, having supposedly solved one problem, his next priority is the more elusive one of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

But is it safe yet to turn his attention away from the Israel-Gaza conflict, leaving it to others to conclude the many remaining issues? Has he failed to notice the internal fighting already erupting in Gaza between armed clans and Hamas security forces, in which 27 people were killed on Sunday alone?

He clearly is aware of Hamas’ delay in returning the bodies of the remaining deceased Israeli hostages, which they say is due to the difficulty in retrieving them without special equipment . . . and of the fact that, of the four bodies initially returned, one has been confirmed as not being a known Israeli hostage.

Israel has now charged Hamas with violating the peace agreement, and stated that it will “not compromise” on the issue of hostage returns, saying that “the mission is not complete.” [Ben Hatton and Sean Seddon, BBC, October 15, 2025.]

And Trump himself has responded to the delay by saying that he will consider approving Israel’s resumption of military action in Gaza if Hamas refuses to uphold its end of the deal, telling CNN that Israeli forces could return to Gaza “as soon as I say the word. I had to hold them [the Netanyahu administration and IDF] back. I had it out with Bibi [Netanyahu].” [ BBC, October 15, 2025.]

Trump added: “What’s going on with Hamas — that’ll be straightened out quickly.” [Id.]

Right. The way he “straightened out” the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of his inauguration.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/15/25

In 1966, Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner and Theodore Bikel starred in one of the best (in my opinion) comedy films ever made: “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming.”

In it, a Soviet submarine runs aground and is stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island. The commander (Bikel) orders his second-in-command (Arkin) to get the sub moving again without creating an international incident, and Arkin decides to take a few of his men ashore to seek help — disguised as Americans in clothes they “borrow” from a local shop. None of them speaks more than a few words of English, and the result, as you can imagine, is nothing short of hilarious . . . in good, clean, 1960s, poking-fun-at-the-Cold-War style.

Fast-forward 59 years. In a classic case of real life imitating art, a diesel-powered submarine — the Novorossiysk from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet — surfaced off the coast of France last week. It had been shadowed for three days, from October 7-9, by a UK warship and helicopter as it was passing through the Strait of Gibraltar and the English Channel, where it was required by regulations to surface. It was on its return voyage from deployment in the Mediterranean, where it had reportedly experienced a fuel leak, raising concerns of a possible underwater explosion.

After passing through the Channel, the vessel was escorted by the Dutch Navy. On October 11th, Dutch authorities reported the Novorossiysk as being under tow in the North Sea due to a malfunction — in response to which the Black Sea Fleet’s press service issued this typically Russian denial:

“Information disseminated by a number of media outlets about an alleged malfunction and, as a result, the emergency surfacing of the diesel-electric submarine Novorossiysk off the coast of France does not correspond to reality. In accordance with international navigation regulations, submarines are to navigate the English Channel only while on the surface.” [Chris Graham, BBC, October 13, 2025.]

But NATO chief Mark Rutte saw the comic value in Moscow’s insistence on denying reality — a habit that hasn’t changed over the last six decades — when he described the “broken” vessel as “limping home,” while referencing another submarine-based work of fiction:

“What a change from the 1984 Tom Clancy novel The Hunt for Red October. Today, it seems more like the hunt for the nearest mechanic.” [Id.]

Good one, Mr. Rutte.

It occurs to me that if governments would only loosen up a bit and learn to laugh at their own fallibility when little things occasionally — and inevitably — do go wrong, perhaps they wouldn’t become the brunt of jokes later.

But then, we would have missed out on a couple of very good movies.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/15/25